Tongue-in-cheek: meaning, pronunciation and examples
Tongue-in-cheek adjective. Meant ironically or as a joke, though appearing serious.
How to say it
tung-in-CHEEK/ˌtʌŋ ɪn ˈtʃiːk/
3 syllables, stressed on the third (CHEEK).
Tongue-in-cheek in a sentence
The museum's tongue-in-cheek sign asked visitors not to feed the dinosaurs.
His review was so tongue-in-cheek that half the readers took it literally.
Similar and opposite
Similar:
Opposite:
- earnest
- serious
- sincere
Where tongue-in-cheek comes from
From the sly gesture of pushing the tongue into one cheek to show you don't mean what you say.
Test yourself
Which word fills the gap?
His review was so _____ that half the readers took it literally.
- sardonic
- tongue-in-cheek
- antediluvian
Show the answer
tongue-in-cheek: His review was so tongue-in-cheek that half the readers took it literally.